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Friday, January 13, 2017

From Bud to Bloom : The Growth of a Story - A Guest Post by Lynn Sholes

This month, Fabulous Florida Writers is pleased to welcome guest blogger Lynn Sholes. Sholes was our featured writer on October 24, 2011. She has written six novels and is the award-winning co-author with Joe Moore of nine thrillers which have been translated into 24 languages. Her latest book, Brain Trust, was released in November.

Sometimes
stories wobble around in a writer’s mind for a long time before anything appears
on paper or the computer. The concept or notion may be there, but it often
needs to ferment before it becomes full-bodied. The idea for Brain Trust arrived in just that way—and
quite a long time ago.

Many
years ago, I came across a business magazine article about a well-known
pharmaceutical company that had purchased a small biotech company. At the time,
genetic engineering was breaking out of the sci-fi realm and into reality. The
article slammed the CEO for spending millions to acquire the small biotech
company. Critics accused him of risking the giant pharmaceutical’s financial
soundness by making the purchase with no prospect of the biotech operation making
any money in the near future.

From
that article bloomed the first bud of an idea, but I didn’t yet know what to do
with it. I tore the article out and filed it inside in a folder with other “buds”
I’d collected. Weeks or months later,
I came across another piece about a political candidate and his brain trust;
the term used for his group of advisors. My mind made a giant leap that somehow
made a creative connection between the big pharma editorial and the term brain
trust. They seemed to click together like Legos to start forming a story, the what ifs flitting around. What if a big
pharmaceutical house was about to lose its lead in the industry, and the CEO
was a maverick and unprincipled visionary who recognized that the future was in
biotech pharmaceuticals? And what if he was desperate enough to use that little
genetics company to work on an unscrupulous and dangerous project involving the
brain that would infuse fresh green blood into his floundering major
pharmaceutical company?

That
idea tumbled around in my noggin for years. I had a lot of starts and stops.
The beginning changed at least five times, maybe more. The main character waffled
between male and female as did the occupation and vocation. The scene that
launched the story into action was like a chameleon. I kept asking myself whose
story is this—the one who discovered the illegal and deadly project, or one of
the victims. I was deadlocked because Brain
Trust was a single story but there were two strong angles and two powerful points
of view. I’d hit a wall.

Still
intrigued, I interviewed a university professor of molecular genetics and took
a tour of the lab. I had a general idea of what I wanted to happen, but I
needed an expert to help me make it plausible. He came up with solutions. And
that’s when I scribbled much of the first draft. But then, another project and
deadline interfered, and Brain Trust was
scrubbed and caged in a folder in my file cabinet.

As
time passed, I finally had a break in my writing schedule and pulled out the
old outline, notes, and the unfinished draft. I wanted to pursue this novel,
but Brain Trust had to be brought up
to date if it was going to fly. Meanwhile, I had teamed up with Joe Moore co-writing
thrillers. We’d already published eight books together. I asked him if he’d
help breathe life into this story I’d started way back when. Joe is stupendous
at action and adventure, so I knew he could really punch it up a notch. Both of
us struggled with the ancient question of whose story this was. Finally, we
went out on a limb and wrote the new version in two points of view. That can be
dangerous, but we gave it a shot.

Brain Trust follows Dr. Brian Wheeler, a molecular geneticist who
works for a leading pharmaceutical house. He is young and eager and is tempted
by the power and money offered him when he becomes a member of “the special
team,” that does off-the-books work
in the biotech lab. But when a woman dies during a procedure he performs on
her, he begins to doubt this is where he belongs. When he decides to excuse
himself from the project, he becomes a hunted man. Brian Wheeler is on the run
for his life while trying to uncover the details and proof of the secret project
he was working on.

Maggie
Hayden is a recently widowed wife and the mother of a brilliant son. When she
is about to lose everything, she is lured into the big pharma’s web by being
offered a lucrative job with unbelievable perks and a superlative education for
her son at their progressive school for gifted children. It doesn’t take long
for her to suspect something is very wrong. When she sees disturbing signs in
her son, she sets out to find out exactly what is going on.

Joe
and I had narrowed the story down to this:

Brian
Wheeler knows their secret. They want him dead.

Maggie
Hayden has her son. They want his brain.

Brain Trust ricochets between two people, Brian Wheeler and
Maggie Hayden, who don’t know each other until their lives collide trying to
stop the diabolical project, BRAIN TRUST.

As
a funny aside, in the first draft, Brian Wheeler was named Brian Thatcher. His
love interest was Becca Windsor—Thatcher
and Becca! An agent got a good chuckle—Becky Thatcher was Tom Sawyer’s
girlfriend. We had to give someone a new name. It turned out that Dr. Brian Thatcher
became Dr. Brian Wheeler. I still think I like Thatcher better.

JACQUELINE

Based on a true story, "Jacqueline" is a tale of family, faith, unusual friendships, and the resiliency of the human spirit set against the backdrop of occupied Rennes in 1944. With the drama of fiction and the authenticity of personal history, "Jacqueline" is both a story about family and a family's story.

PROJECT JUNE BUG

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About Me

I'm currently a columnist for The Island Reporter, a publication serving the South Gulf Beaches in St. Petersburg, Florida. My Florida Authors series features articles based on exclusive interviews with some of the state’s best writers. My “Pride & Joy” column
profiles individuals who give back to their communities through volunteerism.
I'm also the author of two novels."Project June Bug" is the story of a young teacher’s efforts to help a student with ADHD. It has received 12 awards, including Premier Book Awards “2009 Book of the Year.” My latest novel, "Jacqueline,"(published by Anaiah Press) is a middle grade historical based on an experience my dad, a WWII veteran, had while stationed in France shortly after D-day. Four of my stories have appeared in "Chicken Soup for the Soul" editions.
I live on Treasure Island (yes, it's as beautiful as it sounds), with my husband and two rather noisy macaws. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, walking on the beach, and visiting family in New Jersey, where I'm the proud "Grammy" of six beautiful grandchildren (with the pictures to prove it!)